Blogs

Review - A Chance to Cut is a Chance to Cure

Artist: Matmos

Matmos has sampled rustling Bible pages, whoopee cushions and the amplified synapse of crayfish nerve tissue to make its avant-electronic pop. Since both Drew Daniel and M.C. Schmidt are doctors' sons, it was probably just a matter of time before they turned to the family business for their raw materials.

Knowing where the various sounds originate adds a certain trainspotter appeal for the listener. It also provokes a few squirms, especially during the viscous slurps of "Lipostudio ... and So On." But Matmos subverts its gimmicky premise by turning identifiable nonmusical sounds into music so good that it makes their origins almost moot. Simply knowing that "For Felix (and All the Other Rats)" is dedicated to their late pet rodent and produced from samples of bowing and plucking his vacant cage may make it more interesting, but it doesn't make it any less strangely beautiful.